Thank You, Pete Seeger

Word has just come in that the legendary musician Pete Seeger has passed away in New York at age 94. It is with a mixture of sadness and gratefulness that I write these words — saddened, of course, that the Old Folkie, as he is affectionately called, is no longer with us but grateful just the same to have been touched by his music and life, even from a distance.

It does put a smile on my face to know, as this news story reports, that Seeger was still energetic enough to be chopping wood near his home along New York’s Hudson River even up to a few days before his passing.

There is so much to say in tribute to this great musician and human being, but since I have said it already on the occasion of Seeger’s last birthday, let me share with you again the words I wrote last May. You can find them here on my blog: “Old Folkie: Tribute to a Musical Treasure”.

All that’s left for me to add to are the words “Thank you”. Pete, you have, in your own way, made the world a much better place to live in and have shared with us all a rich musical legacy that we can all pass down to our children and grandchildren.

Thank you, Pete Seeger. I believe I can hear now some distant strains of “We Shall Overcome” being played somewhere in the far-off distant horizon, as you lead a heavenly choir in singing in full glory. It sounds so beautiful, I can’t wait to get there myself!

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